Archive: March 31, 2014

Journalism 101 teaches budding young writers that the headline is the most valuable copy to hook the reader in. And considering that 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy but only 2 out of 10 will actually read the rest, we know this extends to realms outside of journalism, like your website, social media content, and blog posts.

In addition to grabbing the reader’s attention, there are other key factors to writing a good headline, which we’d like to outline here.

Make sure the headline clearly explains what the article is about

Your headline should be optimized for search engines and social media

Less is not necessarily more (have you seen the length of some Buzzfeed headlines recently??)

Give readers a takeaway, including an emotional trigger, lesson, or something of value they can hold on to.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get a headline just right and writers often struggle to come up with something that will leave the reader wanting more. Here is a headline from Copy Blogger that recently caught our attention:

Having access to readily available information 24/7 has turned us into an impatient culture. Studies show that 42% of customers who have voiced a concern on a social network expect an answer within 60 minutes or less.

We all understand how frustrating it is to voice a concern about a company or brand and then have to wait an extraordinarily long time for a response or resolution. While we know (or at least hope) that the response is coming, timing is everything and a company that waits too long can quickly rise to the top of the poop list.

Before you start to freak out about whether or not you even have the resources in place to handle that kind of turnaround time, here are some easy ways to appeal to your customers.

Treat positive and negative reviews the same and answer each query promptly. NEVER ignore a comment that has been posted on your wall and try to turn a bad situation around (here’s where your customer service skills can really shine!).

Take ownership when things go bad. The worst thing you can do is blame the customer (remember that he/she is ALWAYS right). A “sorry” really does go a long way and a good faith gesture will speak volumes about how you conduct business.

Listen to what the customer is trying to tell you. Set up Google Alerts and nip things in the bud as quickly as you can. Also, read into what a particular customer is saying. Is there a better way of doing things that you haven’t explored yet?

After months of planning, fine-tuning, and organizing you are finally ready to launch your business online. And if you build it, they will come, right?

Not exactly.

There is a lot of work that goes behind the scenes of any online business. But it’s important to get it right from the start. Building your presence on the Internet requires diligence, preparation, and patience. And the following key items:

Lock in your social media handles and domain name as quickly as possible. Say you are branding a burger business by the name of “Ben’s Burgers.” You’ll want to make sure that this domain name has not yet been taken (go to www.bensburgers.com to check). Purchase your domain name from a web hosting company (we like GoDaddy), and make sure that the price you pay includes add-ons like branded emails. If at all possible, try to get a .com as opposed to a .net or .org. Sign up for free accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc., with the same name to make your brand uniform (examples: http://facebook.com/bensburgers and @bensburgers).

Think about your immediate and long-term goals. This is very important for any up-and-coming business. Before you start to advertise your services, there has to be a need. This goes back to fundamental supply-and-demand (a great example of this was the pen scene in The Wolf of Wall Street).

Work with an artist on your brand image. How do you want your company to be perceived by the public—as fun, professional, edgy? You’ll want to lock in a recognizable logo/company brand before you start advertising your services so people can instantly recognize you online.

Build your website. Before you start to leak the details of your venture, you’ll want to build a website that advertises your services. Important things to include: links to your social media pages, contact information, FAQ section, a clearly written mission statement, and ordering information if applicable (set up a link through PayPal if possible for ease of use).

5. Outline your marketing strategy and get to work on advertising. This step is extremely crucial to the overall success of your brand. Whether or not you decide to work with an advertising company, you’ll want to make sure you have a smart strategy in place. List your website on online directories and review sites and connect with others via LinkedIn or through networking groups. Encourage bloggers to come by your store to sample your products in exchange for a review and get on Twitter/Facebook to promote your grand opening. There are so many ways to get creative with your marketing!

Every day, hashtags are invented at a dizzying pace. It’s important to know the meaning behind them and how to use them properly—arbitrarily placing hashtags in your tweets and posts won’t get you anywhere (and may actually do you a disservice in the long run).

Here’s a look at a few very popular hashtags as well as their meanings. How many of these do you use?

#latergram: used with a photo you took earlier (to indicate you are posting this pic at a later time)

#instagood: used to describe an artsy pic

#teamfollowback, #FF, #followFriday: used in conjunction with the names of users you would like people to follow

#dogstagram: popular hashtag for dog lovers

#tbt or #throwbackThursday: use this with an old photograph

#nofilter: used often on Instagram when a photo is taken without using a filter effect

It’s hard to believe that Pinterest, the site for sharing all things beautiful, is turning four this month. What better time than now to answer some questions you may have about this social sharing site.

Is this site a fad? Good question. Because there are so many social sharing sites today, it’s easy to see why this would get lumped in with the others who lose their momentum early on. Making it to a four-year-anniversary is worth noting and this site has absolute staying power. With over 70 million active users, Pinterest isn’t likely to fade away anytime soon.

How do I gain followers? Simple. Add a Pinterest follow button to your website, link your Pinterest and Facebook accounts so pins appear in both feeds, and start to pin/repin/like things you see. Follow users who pin similar content and leave comments as appropriate! If you own a blog, check out some Pinterest blog hops!

Is Pinterest good for my business? Pinterest has been incredibly profitable for many companies. In order to find out the answer to this question, you may have to do some research. Find out what your competitors are doing. What do their Pinterest boards look like? Are they active (i.e., do they “pin” often)? What about your buyers? What are they doing?

What should I pin? The sky is the limit where this is concerned. Here are some heavily pinned boards that may give you inspiration for your own: home décor ideas, recipes, “to-read” book list, fashion “mood boards,” vacation destinations you’d like to visit, holiday shopping lists, blog basics, social media news, etc.

There is one factor that distinguishes Twitter from its social media counterparts and that is the opportunity to participate in real-time conversations with friends, followers, and people you don’t already know.

What does that mean for the average businessperson? Put simply: the opportunity to network, to market yourself and your brand, and to connect with a community.

Here are some things we suggest to get the most out of your Twitter search experience.

Keep it simple. If you own a pet shop in New Jersey, you would fare better by doing a search for “AsburyPark” and “dog” instead of throwing in multiple hashtags and search terms.

Save a search on a social media platform (like Hootsuite) as this will show up in a column of tweets that are constantly updated. This will make it easy to jump in on a conversation as soon as it’s happening (please note: just like in real life, there is an etiquette to doing this).

Sometimes older tweets won’t come up in a search, so you may want to consider adding “before:” along with your search term to see tweets posted before a certain date.

Let’s go back to the example of the local pet shop owner above. Here are a few sample interactions he/she could have on Twitter to promote a product.

Sample tweet: “It WAS fun and games until someone chewed up his leash. #badboybuster #puppyproblems #dog”

Pet shop reply: “We have a wide variety of leashes for puppies—and we ship FREE nationally. Check us out online!” (insert website}

Sample tweet: “Anyone know of a good dog park in #AsburyPark”?

Pet shop reply: “Have you tried the dog beach at 8th and Ocean? Great spot for your pup!”

The first tweet is designed to make a sale, while the second offers helpful advice to the consumer, which may lead to a sale if the customer investigates the store sending the tweet.